Flying feather toy



Dec. 22, 1953 A, PIERCE 2,663,119

FLYING FEATHER TOY Filed Oct. 19, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 19' TTORNBY Dec. 22, 1953 o. A. PIERCE 2,663,119

FLYING FEATHER TOY Filed Oct. 19, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pat ented Dec. 22, 1953 UNITED STATEfi ENT OFFICE 3: Claims".

This: invention: relates to flying. toys and more: v

particularly to a typexof toy' resembling aiflyingfeather;

It iszanobject of. the present invention to provide. a flying toy whichresembles. a flying feather. and which is easy and safe to operateand which will fly through the air in anovel manner;

It is ianother object ofthe present invention toiprovide a flying'toy-which will fly into the air and as it'descends-will release apara'chutist with novel. means for dropping the parachutist to earth.

It. is :a still further objectof the present inventionto provide a flying toywhich will flythrough the...air:;in.a' manner. similar. to that. of birds.

Other; objects: of the" present inventionare =to provide. aflying toy which is of simple constructi'on; easy andflsafe tov operate, inexpensive to manufacture, pleasing I inv appearance and efrlcient; in" operation;

For iapbetter'. understanding of the 1 invention; reference mayrbe had to the following detailed. description takenxin ccnnectionwith the-accom-= panying drawing, in'wh'ichi:

Figl'l is. aeperspective view-of a flying toy embodying the. :iea'ture-s of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan'viewof the bottom of the flying toy shown in Fig. 1; I

Fig; 3 is a'fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3'- of I Fig; 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary .plan' View of th'e feather. parachute, shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 isairagn'lentary side View of the feather parachute, taken along lines 5-5 of Fig; 4-;1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view Fig. 10 is a.plan..view--ofa modified form ofv feather parachute;

Fig.v 11 isan enlarged. fragmentary view of the: means for-joining the feathers together shown.- in Fig. 9; 1 v

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the flying 'featha er toy with parachutist assembly as gheldin the "hands prior to releasing into the air;

Fig; 13Efis" a perspective view showing the flying.

feather an'd parachutist assembly subsequent to projection iinto the: air;

Fig.114' is afragmentary perspective view of a modifiedform'oi the invention showing a toy bird attachedto th'e'fl ing toy;

Fig. 15 is' an enlarged perspective view of the means for-retaining the toy bird on the flying feather;-

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary vertical section taken along lines IS -l6 of Fig. 14;v

Fig. 17 is a perspective View of a modified form of. clamp for'pin'ching the rubber ltubing shown iniFig. 9. 1

Referring nowtcFigs; .1 through .7; a flying wing"! hasfrfixe'dlyconnected to the underside thereofia tubularelement 2', whichlie's along the centra'ltaxisiofathev flyingwing 'I and extends forward of said flying-wing" l The tubular element 2 is fixedly connected.ztoi'thexfiying wing i by means 'oflthe fastening elements 3 and 6. A stab'ili'zingwire :5 extends along the longitudinal axis of'itheiflying wing rearwardly of the tubu- Ia'r 'eI'em ent 2- and'is fixedly connected thereto by means fof "a fastening' element 5. The front end of the'stabilizing. element 5; extends forwardly of the fastening element 6 and is fixedly connected to the rear :of .the tubularelementv 2 tin conventionalimanner by means of the loop I. Housed Within theltubulari'element E'is a rubber band 8, which :is .fi'xedlyconnected in. the conventional manner to the inner rear end of the tubular element J21 This rubber band 8 is fixedly con-. necteditoaifinger loop 9 by means of a tubular fastening -'e1em'ent." III.

feathers 1M; l5:- and M5,; angularly spaced from each othe s shown in": Figs: 1' and 4.. A. wire lc'op l?" is fi'xedl'y' connected to the circular "disc [S at fone'ien'd and: adapted to 'd'eta'chably engage a;verticallyiextending"Wire l8" provided in the upperfront surfaceof'the flying wing l, as shown in Fig;

stabilizing element 5-is curvedzdownward- 1y at the rear end thereof ini'order 'to impart the flight? characteristicsx'to the. flying wing illustrated in F-igfl; The flying wing and parachutist assembly are projected into the air in the manner shoWn-in:Fig-.1, the thumb of the left hand engaging the finger loop 9 while the thumb and first finger of the right hand engage the rear curved surface of the flying wing i thus stretching the rubber band 8 to its maximum. Upon releasing the rear end of the flying wing i, the entire fiying toy including the parachutist and feather parachute are projected into the air in the manner shown in Fig. 7. As the flying wing begins to descend, the parachutist and feather parachute are released and the parachutist i l descends slow- 1y to the ground, the feather parachute due to the pitch of the feathers executing a descending spiral as is shown in Fig. 7. In the different figures, like parts are given in certain instances the same numerals.

In Fig. In, there is shown a modified form of the feather parachute, and parachutist. The parachutist i9 is constructed of thin light material such as plastic, while the feet therefor are made of lead in order to insure the vertical position of the parachutist upon landing. The parachutist it is connected by means of the cord 12 to a feather parachute comprising a series of upwardly concave feathers so connected together at their lower ends so as to produce substantially a hemispherical surface as shown in Fig. 7A. A loop 2| of aluminum or other light material is connected to the center of the hemispherical feather surface by means of a cord 52. This loop 21 engages the upwardly extending wire iii of the flying wing i in a manner similar to that of the wire it, shown in Fig. l. The operation of this modified form of the parachutist and feather parachute is similar to that of the feather parachute shown in Fig, 1 with the exception that the descending flight characteristics of the parachute are different. Upon returning to earth, the parachutist i9 and the hemispherical feather mass 29 descend vertically, the hemispherical feather mass 2G spinning on its central axis.

In Fig. 8, there is shown a modified form of the means for projecting the flying wing i into the air. Th tubular element 2 is connected to the flying wing i by means of the fastening element 22. This fastening element 22 may be made of rubber or any other suitable material. A rubber band 8 is connected in the conventional manner to the inner rear end of the tubular element 2 and extends downwardly through the tubular element 2 and through the flying Wing l by means of the opening 23. The rubber band is then brought around the lower surface of the fastening element 22 and looped over the tip of the thumb of the left hand. The rubber band is then extended by pulling back the flying wing I in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 9, there is shown. a modified form of the present invention consisting of two feathers 2-?- and 25 connected together by means of a short tubular piece of rubber it. At the center of this rubber tubing is a metallic clamp of malleable metal 2? which pinches the central part of the rubber tubing 2%. The metallic clamp 2! imparts to the rubber tubing 26 a slightly v-shape. The pinching of the rubber tubing 26 into a slightly t -shaped element imparts remarkable flight characteristics to the flying toy itself. At the ends of the rubber tubing are looped two rubber bands 3. The central section of the fastener 21 is bent upwardly on one side as shown in Fig. 11 to provide a hooked member, 23.

Referring to Figs. and 12 there is shown a modified form of parachutist and feather parachute. A circular disc 23 has fixedly connected to the upper side of the surface thereof a parachutist 29 and three feathers 3! 3i and 32. These three feathers 38, Ill and 32 are curved downwardly along their major axes and are connected to the disc is in the manner shown in Figs. 10 and 12. A wire loop ll is fixedly connected to the disc is at one end and adapted to detachably engage the hooked member 28 at the other end, as shown in Fig. 12.

In operation, th rubber bands 8 are looped over the upper part of the thumb of the left hand and the two feathers 2d and 25 are bent back upon each other in the manner shown in Fig. 12, the thumb and first finger of the right hand grasping the juxtaposed ends of the feathers the rubber band is extended and upon releasing the outer ends of the feathers 24 and 25, the flying feather and parachutist assembly are projected into the air in the manner shown in Fig. 13. As the flying toy ascends into the air the parachutist assembly is released and spins to earth in a helical manner. The flying feather toy-itself returns to earth with the Wings fluttering in the manner indicated in Fig. 13. By increasing the bending effect of the fastening element 21 the flight characteristics of the flying feather may be changed so that the feathers actually rotate instead of fluttering.

In Fig. 14, there is shown a modified form of the flying feather shown in Fig. 9. A toy bird 33 is fixedly connected to the center of the rubber tubing 26 by means of a fastening element 36. This fastening element is shown in greater detail in Fig. 15 and comprises a lower part 35 and 36 which serves to pinch the rubber tubing in a manner similar to that of the fastening element 2! and an upper portion 31 and 33 which retains the bird in its position. In Fig. 14 there is shown only one rubber band 8. The feathers 213 and 25 are folded back upon each other in a manner similar to that in Fig. 13 and the rubber band 5 is looped over the upper part of the thumb of the left hand while the thumb and. first finger of the right hand stretch the rubber band by gripping the ends of the juxtaposed feathers 2d and 25. Upon release the flying feather toy with the bird assembly is projected into the air and executes a course similar to that shown in Fig. 13,

In Fig. 17, there is shown a modified form of fastening element comprising a piece of metallic malleable metal bent into a U-shape. This fastening element 39 serves to bend the rubber tubing 26 at the desired angle and is employed when it is not desired to attach a parachutist assembly.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided a flying toy which is easy and safe to operate and which employs novel means of imparting flight to the flying toy as well as including novel performance characteristics.

While various changes may be made in the detailed construction, it should be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A flying toy comprising two feathers, a rubber tubular element, said rubber tubular element being fixedly connected to the feathers at each end thereof, a fastening element fixedly connected to said rubber tubing at the central portion thereof whereby to impart a slight bend to said tubular element, said fastening element be ing provided with a hook on the upper portion thereof, two rubber bands fixedly connected to the outer ends of said rubber tubular element,

and. a parachutist assembly detachably connected.

to said hook, said parachutist assembly comprising a flat circular disc, a toy parachutist connected to the upper surface of said circular disc and extending vertically therefrom and three vertically extending feathers fixedly connected to the upper surface of said circular disc at the periphery thereof and at right angles to each other, said feathers curving downwardly along the longit-udinal axes thereof.

2. A flying toy comprising two elongated feathers, said feathers having longitudinal stems which are curved, a tubular element of'rubber, the ends of said tubular element being fixedly connected to the ends of said curved stems, a U- shaped element of malleable metal fixedly connected to the center of said tubular element whereby to bend same into a slightly V-shape and rubber bands fixedly connected to the ends of said rubber tubing element.

3. A flying toy comprising two elongated feathers, said feathers having longitudinal stems which are curved, a rubber tubular element, the ends of said rubber tubular element being fixedly connected to the ends of said stems, a U-shaped fastening element of a malleable metal fixedly connected to the central portion of said tubular element whereby to pinch and bend same into a slight V-shape, the central portion of said V- shaped element being bent upwardly on one side whereby to provide a hook, a parachutist as- 6 sembly, said parachutist assembly being connected to said hook by means of a looped wire, said parachutist assembly comprising a flat circular disc, a toy parachutist fixedly connected to the upper surface of said circular disc in vertical position, and three upwardly extending feathers fixedly connected to the upper surface of said flat circular disc along the periphery thereof and at substantially right angles to each other, said 

